project pita

I am seeing a common theme in my life: food.  Most of my posts recently have revolved around eating.  Dang.  I am getting really good at it.

Back to pitas. I LOVE Gyros.  And it is not a gyro unless it is wrapped in a soft tasty warm pita.  Or flat bread.  That is my problem, I don't know which it is.  Pitas have pockets.   Flat bread doesn't?

Well since I have been grinding my own wheat for almost two years now I figured it was time to put the bread and scone making aside to embark on unchartered territory.  Mediterranean territory.  Flat bread land.  

Oops, I guess I forgot to tell you that I have tried this once before.  It is not something I like to remember, my flat bread turned into small hard discs the size of a makeup compact.  Not much gyro meat will fit in there.

So for this I turned to my handy Phylis Stanley cookbook (the mother of all whole wheat cooking)  rather then the internet.  She had a recipe for pitas, flat bread, leavened and unleavened bread.  I tried them all.  And the leavened bread takes the cake!  At least when cooking with whole wheat and using The Mother's cookbook, leavened is where it is at.  It was biblical.

I know it looks like a fried egg, but frying it rather than baking it gives it a toasty flavor.

On the horizon is my baking snack, coke zero and cheetos.  Right!

finally . . . pictures

my inspiration: Ivy's dress from The Exploding Girl

my medium:  $3 shower curtain from goodwill

my creation: 

it just took some sweat and tears, thats all.  

on dining in Gainesville

It is true, we like breakfast.  But if I were honest with myself, most of our out-of-the-home dining money is spent on dinner.  John and I date once a week.  For many couples a date is adventurous and fun and something radical.  For us, our hearts beat a little bit faster when we think of eating out.  It is truly a treat not to cook and to imagine all Saturday where we will eat (or sometimes friday depending on what sporting event is scheduled to air Saturday night, that is John's date with ol' Philips).

We like to try new things.  It is enough for me to get a little dolled up for my husband and pretend like I look that way all week.  Our search is always on for a local eatery that is both delicious and charming, inexpensive and hidden, scrumptious and leaving-us-dreaming-of-their-garlic-yogurt-dipping-sauce-all-night-long restaurant.

Oh wait, I must be talking about The Top, and how they have sweet potato fries that you dip in a finger-licking, creamy, drippy, garlic yummo sauce.  AND I cannot get enough.

Here are some of the selling points on this restaurant for us:

1.  It looks like it was decorated from a thrift stores collection.

2.  You can be sure that your waiter or waitress will have tattoos and a shaved portion of their head or        really long hair.

3.  There is a waitress who has a tattoo of a bird, and in place of the bird's head is her face!

4.  Organic and sometimes vegan food, if you are in to that sort of thing.

5.  Good beers

6. They have a photo booth!

This booth really caught us off-guard, which is evident in the first picture.  No countdown, no beeping sound . . . just "SNAP, you better look cute because we ain't stoppin".  Which is why I quickly made sure to smooch my husband before we ran out of film.   Wouldn't you do the same thing in that situation?  And then we do what we always do, smile awkwardly until someone stops taking pictures.

That said, if you live in Gainesville, go get you some fries.  If you don't go get you some photo booth pics.

on breakfast in Gainesville

Before we moved to Gainesville, John and I lived in Fort Collins.  And one of the defining characteristics of Fort Collins, along with great biking lanes, view of the Rockies, New Belgium Brewery and no humidity, is that they at one point in history had the most restaurants per capita than any other U.S.  city.

That said, we have our Fort Collins faves.  It is hard to believe that nobody does sushi better than Suehiro.  And a potato burrito from Big City is hard to match.  But most of all, you have GOT to love breakfast in Fort Collins.  Farmer's Table has been a long time family fave, and right up there on John's list of breakfast spots.  There is also Silver Grill, the Breakfast Club, the Blue Bird Cafe, and many others that have popped up since we have moved.  But my ALL TIME favorite has to be Lucilles.  You just cannot get a better biscuit for your buck.  Coffee, good breakfast coffee.  Tea, never had better.  Hank's eggs, awesome.  

So when we moved to Gainesville we were all about finding our new spot to get breakfast on a lazy Saturday morning.  We are still looking.  I mean, there is Ivey's if you want to spend a lot of money.  There is Peach Valley Cafe if you want local Perkin's-style fare.  And then there are spotty places around town where you can find eggs and grits with toast, but don't expect much more.  Oh and flying biscuit which is the Egg and I of the South except not as good.  So we gladly go to Cracker Barrel when we need some pancakes.

UNTIL TODAY!

We have found another spot.  Only 6 weeks before we must move of course.  This place has personality.  It is called The Jones, and while Lucilles would kick their butt most days of the week, we will take it!  We had some Jones Rancheros which was de lish.   All of their food is organic and local.   We are sure to stop by again before starting our search all over again in Jacksonville.  And for those of you lucky to be in Fort Collins, and don't know what I mean, your welcome, I have eaten a lot of food in that town to tell you exactly where to go out to eat.

Love,

Melissa "I want to a Lucilles biscuit" Teten

lovin my . . .

ruffle ballet flats from target coming in at $12.99

free artwork

I just heard about this site and checked it out. Feed Your Soul  is a site that offers artwork from various artists for free.  All you do is download and print.  All I am thinking is make sure you have enough ink!  Here is one I downloaded.

its cutesy.  I picture a lot of the prints in a nursery or kids room, or your girly office.

"I made it work"

John returns tomorrow!  He has been with a students at the African American Congress on Discipleship in Virginia.  I cannot wait for him to return to me!  It is hard sharing your husband.  For any of you wives who regularly have to say good-bye to your husbands due to the nature of their work, I salute you, or cry with you, or want to buy you pepper spray.

I range from a bump on a log to a power house (call me the mitochondria of my home)  when John is away.  This time I finished a sewing project I started when he was away a few weekends ago (pictured above).  I also made some homemade granola in anticipation of my in-laws coming to visit soon.  Soon as in a few weeks, and by then the granola will be gone.

I had the privilege of attending two weddings in matter of a handful of hours, in which I wore my latest garment!

Other than than it has been phone calls to friends to keep me occupied, watching My Sister's Keeper, and finding out what Modern Family is all about.

I cannot wait for John to come home.

trust

from Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning

Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God.  Fear of the unknown path stretching ahead of us destroys childlike trust in the Father's active goodness and unrestricted love . . . faith is less a matter of believing in the existence of God than a practical trust in his loving care under WHATEVER pressure (emphasis mine).  The stakes here are enormous, for I have not said in my heart, "God exists," until I have said, "I trust you."

from Her Brain by Mrs. Teten

Here is where I am struggling, wrestling and slowly calming down to rest in the hand of God, trusting in His plans for me.  Trust,  I am learning to trust God in this season of life more than I ever have before.  And I am thankful for it.

cutesy

remedy without me

John made it to Knoxville!  He is staying there a day or so to spend time with David, Pamela and the Hamilton folk.

Spending a morning at David's coffee shop, Remedy was a must for John.  He sent me pics to make me jealous!

He sent a pic of his Aztec sipping chocolate that he was sampling to make me jealous.

I say come back to me, and bring that chocolate with you!

blackberry vs. iPhone

 john's iPhone

 lanny's blackberry.

I think Lanny won.

new car!

I know people get new cars all the time . . . buy . . . sell . . . trade . . . upgrade . . . downgrade.  But this is a new thing for us.  Our current car has been diagnosed with cancer of the engine.  So we are buying my uncle's beautiful and tenderly cared for Honda!

John is currently driving it to Florida with my uncle.  And I asked him to send me pics along the way from the newest addition to our family, the iPhone.

This is my uncle, Lanny.  He is a planner of all planners, and here he is mapping out their course.  A side-effect of the iPhone on blogger is bad resolution, hence the small picture.

speaking of a great car and a handsome man, look who it is!  My husband!

hope

World Help in Haiti
Many hands lighten the load . . . Haitian Proverb

what fun!

This weekend John and I were at our annual Spring Conference.  It is a weekend that we invite our students from all over Florida (and now Valdosta too) to come and find opportunity to grow.  This year's theme was, How to Change the World, and we discussed following Christ and making disciples of all nations.

John directed in for the second year in a row.  It was fun getting to see him in action . . . following his vision for the weekend . . . designing shirts (featuring the design above). . . following up on every detail . . . amazing.

It really was one of my favorite conferences.  The people who came really made it for me.  I got to spend time with women I have known for years, some I have only known for a new months but am walking closely with them, and I met women I cannot wait to get to know better.  Also, having Valdosta State join us in our region has been a great blessing.

I just had so much fun . . . here is a link to the step show that was my highlight of my weekend, compliments to the Valdosta men.

missing China

Last night I was trying to remember the smells of China . . . and what did the food taste like? I already forget. Must mean we have to go back to remind ourselves.

I do not forget what the people were like. I remember their names and their faces. Hopefully we get to see them again.

simple old-fashioned fun

About a month ago John and I visited our local Salvation Army thrift store. This one in particular we have found some hidden gems in the past. John found a barely used Sigur Ros CD. Which he was astounded by because they are an icelandic band that we were positive no one in Gainesville listened to.

But on this trip they were having a 50% off sale on select items. We walked out with a sweet mug, some vintage-cottage-style fabric that I will use for something cute, Scattergories game for 25 cents AND a puzzle for 25 cents.

We walked out realizing that the game probably has missing items, and the puzzle missing pieces. And nothing is worse than pouring over a puzzle for hours only to find out you can never complete it.

The game came in handy over Christmas break as we packed it away and played to our hearts content with the fam in Colorado.

As for the puzzle, we pulled it out this weekend to give it a go. AND to our amazement . . . we had all the pieces. The previous owners even went to great lengths to put all the edge pieces in a baggie. How nice of them. So, you can have hours of fun for only 25 cents. Beautiful.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

While checking my email I was informed that today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, January 11th.

Nothing has gripped my heart more in the past couple of years like learning about modern day slavery. 27.1 million people are estimated to be in slavery today.

There are so many types of slavery and all types of people in bondage. And all need to be rescued and rehabilitated. But my heart aches especially for the little girls and women who are sold, forced or tricked into being prostitutes, sex slaves.

It is easier to believe that this is happening in faraway places, and some devastating cases can be found all around the world. However, it is harder to believe it happens here, down the street or across town, but it does.

I have read Not for Sale and am currently reading Terrify No More both are accounts of people who have begun massive rescue efforts around the globe. I don't want to simply feel sorry, cry a little and return the book to the library, that wont set girls my age and younger free. I want to help, I want to give money, I want to pray, I want to send qualified and skilled people to help, I want to help.

So if you feel inclined to know what is happening in Cambodia as well as next door then take a look at:

International Justice Mission

Not for Sale Campaign

2010!

Hello New Year! Hello another year of watching God love me and my friends and family in wonderful ways. 2009 was not what I expected, so I am expecting the unexpected for this year.

John and I loved, loved, loved time out in Colorado. What we do not love is returning to similar weather in Florida. It is SO cold, for Florida anyway. I am talking mittens, puffy jacket, painful winds. Yuck.

I celebrated the big 25 this month. I heard that at 25 your brain in fully developed . . . which means I have arrived. So many good ideas must be coming my way with my brain this size. Also, 25 is the peak of fertility I hear too. So that means either look out I am about to get preggo or it means it is all downhill from here as my fertility wanes.

Some dreams have already seen their fruition this year. Like my post-Christmas-decor-deal shopping. Yesterday I told Michaels who was boss when I got $122 worth of Christmas decor, ornaments, gifts, and crocheting yarn for $32. Yup, i am living it up in my 25th year.

In other news, John and I are moving to Jacksonville in the summer! We have prayerfully decided to open up a Navigators ministry at the University of North Florida. Jacksonville is an hour and a half from Gainesville, on the eastern shores of Florida. We get to maintain relationships with students, friends, and coworkers whom we LOVE while beginning new ones.

We are also prayerfully considering buying a home. Which is scary enough I want to write out another rent check just thinking about it. Yet it is exciting, having a space that is yours to do whatever you want with it, including fixing the dishwasher on your own dime and time. Cannot wait.

Well we are pretty pictureless this time of year. Which is too bad since we just spent so much time in the beauty of Colorado. But soon, so soon, we should have something fun to look at. Until then,

Melissa

what i am clinging to . . .

the 5th and 6th verse of Psalm 16.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
You hold my lot.

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

How thankful I have been as I have thought through these words. That they are not mere words, but they give me life because they are true, and can be true in my life if I let them.
The Lord is whom I have chosen, He is my portion. He holds my today and tomorrow. And no matter the day or cirumstance, I am in a pleasant place and have an assured beautiful inheritance. It is good to be a daughter of the King. Thank You my King.

tetens and one maschhoff

sweet maria!